


The Lost Gems

by UndertheBloodMoon



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fantastic Racism, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Imprisonment, Kidnapping, Panic Attacks, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protectiveness, Psychological Trauma, Rescue, Team as Family, Torture, Wrongful Imprisonment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:34:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21734614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndertheBloodMoon/pseuds/UndertheBloodMoon
Summary: Mollymauk and Jester are the gems of the Mighty Nein. They both express themselves the most, both the most willing to speak to someone or run into some crazy situation with a half baked plan. They shine against the dreary and quiet sky that is their group. The Nein cherish both their gems dearly. They may not all like to admit it, even to themselves, but the two tieflings are very loved members of the Nein.As the old men say: Absent makes the heart grow fonder. You don't realize what you've lost until you've lost it. The Nein don't know how hard the loss of their tieflings will hit them until their two gems suddenly disappear.
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett & Mollymauk Tealeaf, Frumpkin & Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre & Beauregard Lionett & Mollymauk Tealeaf, Jester Lavorre & Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre & Marion Lavorre | Ruby of the Sea, Jester Lavorre & Mollymauk Tealeaf, Jester Lavorre & Nott & Caleb Widogast, Jester Lavorre & The Mighty Nein, Jester Lavorre & The Traveler, Mollymauk Tealeaf & Caleb Widogast, Mollymauk Tealeaf & Yasha, Nott & Mollymauk Tealeaf, The Mighty Nein & Mollymauk Tealeaf, The Mighty Nein & The Mighty Nein
Comments: 3
Kudos: 71





	1. The Nameless Town

**Author's Note:**

> In this fic, Molly and Caduceus are both members of the Mighty Nein because why the hell not. 
> 
> I do not own any of the Mighty Nein, nor the ideas of Orcs, Tieflings, etc. That belongs to Critical Role and the creators of D&D respectively. 
> 
> This fic also includes a lot of violence and such, so please don't read if that'll have any negative effects on you.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Mighty Nein spend a lot of their time traveling. Though some members, like Mollymauk, are plenty used to moving about, it's always nice to settle in one place for a while. They finally do discover what seems to be a little farming village to stop at for at least a night. Team Tief and Caddyshack decide to search for some sweets.

Another day, another long road trip. Though Molly himself was used to being on the road, that didn't mean he didn't get tired of it every once in a while. He loved eating food that wasn't stored in a bag for weeks and sleeping on something other than the ground, in a warm space. 

Leaning against the cart with a dramatic huff, he looked to Beauregard, who was riding her horse fairly close to the cart.

"Are we there yet?" He whined, stretching out his hand to grab at her ankle. 

Beau gave him a dirty look and swung her foot forward, keeping it out of his reach. "Why the hell are you asking me? I'm not the one driving us."

"But you're the closest!" 

"Fuck off."

"Play nice, you too!" Jester scolded from her place at the reigns, driving the cart. Molly couldn't suppress his grin at the sound of Beau's indignant huff. "I know you're cranky, you guys, but we're almost there so don't fuss too much."

"We're not- well, _I'm_ not fussy, " Molly leaned back to flash a loving smile to Beau, who flipped him off without even looking. "Two years on the circus will get you used to travel."

And travel they did. They traveled for a few hours before houses came into view. There were no walls in this town. There was barely anything really. A few houses, perhaps an inn if you squinted, and a well or two. There were mostly farms, probably what kept this town up and running. It was cute, seeming to mostly be made out of families and such. They decided to rest there for the night, allowing everyone to stretch their legs and allow Nott to stretch her fingers. 

"Try not to steal _expensive_ things, dear, " Molly caught Nott by the back of her cloak, making sure not to tug on her hood and accidentally pull it off. "I doubt people here can afford to lose too many of their things." 

"Yes, yes, I won't. Maybe a few buttons, " Nott pushed and wiggled away from him, darting off like the little shadow she is. 

"I don't think I saw this place on the map..." Fjord frowned as he looked away, his attitude a stark difference from Jester squealing "I hope they have a bakery!" as she rushed by. 

"This place is too small, " Molly decided, helping the rest lead the horses and cart somewhere safe. Maybe Caleb can put his alarm around it, even if they don't really have much worth stealing. "I doubt it's even known by the cities close by. Mr. Clay, what do you think?"

The tall firbolg climbed off his horse, patting the mare as he scanned over their pitstop. The large cleric's eyes landed on him after a moment, seeming lost as to why Molly and Fjord were looking at him. "Sorry, what?"

Molly grinned easily before waving his hand at the tiny town. "How about we stay here for the night? Hopefully, stock our dear sugar addict up on some more pastries?"

"Uh... Yeah, " Cadueces gave his horse a final pat before gently grasping at the reigns and helping Yasha and Caleb prepare the cart for hopefully a night in the stables or something similar. "Yeah, that sounds nice. This place seems... Real nice." 

Molly clapped his hands together as he started towards the direction the Chaos Crew had disappeared in. "Sounds like a plan then! I need a drink. Nott's flask is getting old." 

•••

The inn they found was tiny. It was barely an inn at all. It was more of a large house that turned their living and dining area into a public space. They had three rooms available and the Nein rented out all of them. Molly did kinda notice the "barkeep" giving him an odd look, but the tiefling was plenty used to stares. He gave the halfling man a dazzling smile, but the staring didn't stop and the heat behind them didn't dim until Beau slapped the carefully counted gold (counted by Caleb, of course) onto the table. 

Molly never liked to admit when he was unnerved, but that did make his skin prickle a bit. You'd think Molly had cursed the guy's family name with the dirty glare he was being given. No one else seemed to notice, however, so he decided to ignore it for now and follow an eager Jester up to their rooms. 

Dibs were called and roommates were assigned without much of a discussion. Caleb and Nott claimed one room (well, Nott claimed it and dragged Caleb in with her), the remaining girls shared a room (again, Jester claimed it, Beau promptly followed and they both dragged Yasha with them), which left the remaining boys to share the final room. 

"Well.." Molly stepped in to see the one large bed occupying the room. "Anyone looking to cuddle or...?" 

"I-I'm alright with the ground, " Fjord said quickly, setting his things down. 

"Aw, Fjord, you wound me. I was looking forward to it. Actually, come to think of it, nevermind. I would rather not wake up with seawater sprayed in my face."

"That was one time!" Fjord complained, but Molly had already turned his attention to Cadueces. 

"You can have the bed if you'd like, Mr. Clay. I doubt either of us would fit once you're on it, anyway."

"Well, if you're sure..." Cad peered at the bed and the floor with uncertainty. "I could always sleep on the floor, you know."

"Nonsense, I insist, " Molly gave the big guy's arm a pat. "We gotta treat our cleric right. You and Jester are the only reason we're all still alive." 

"Why thank you, " Cadueces smiled then and Molly took it as a small victory. Cad was too nice for his own good sometimes. And Molly didn't feel great about sleeping in the beds, especially after that heated glare he'd gotten from the barkeep downstairs. 

Once the boys had settled, placing their extra items and keeping the important ones close, they went out to meet the rest of the Nein down in the bar area. There were only a couple tables, both pretty small, and one was already occupied by a large fellow that didn't seem to want to be bothered by their colorful crew. With a bit of squeezing, they managed to all fit in the other table.

"This place is... Charming, " Mollymauk offered, propping his chin up with his hand. "Can we stay?"

"It smells like rat shit and mold, " Beau grumbled, leaning against Caleb like she was ready to pass out. Molly could easily tell she was just being dramatic. 

"A lot of hotels smell like that, I've noticed, " said Yasha, who only managed to fit because she let Nott and Jester sit on her lap. "Is it normal?"

"Only for the cheap places, " Beau flapped her hand in a general gesture. "Meaning only the places we can afford. So yes. It's normal."

"Oh..."

"Ignore her, Yasha, she's just grumpy and sleepy, " Jester reached and tugged at Beau's hair a little, earning a grunt and her hand half-heartedly swatted at. "Beauu, don't fall asleep! You still gotta come with me to check for a bakery!" 

"I dunno, Jes..." Beau mumbled, her voice slightly muffled as she buried her face in her folded arms. 

"C'mon, Beau, you always go shopping with me!" 

"I'm just not feeling it today, " Beau propped herself up a bit. "We've been riding all day and I'm just... Tired. Sorry, Jessie." 

"No, it's fine..." Jester deflated a bit, sounding genuinely disappointed.

 _Well, we can't have that_ , Molly decided. 

"I'll go with you, dear, " Molly piped up before the conversation could drift off. "I'm feeling antsy. Let Beau sleep. Maybe she'll be a little more pleasant when she's rested."

Beau flipped him off, which he returned cheerfully. Jester immediately brightened, which Molly saw as his second victory of the day. 

"Thanks, Molly! I'll buy you all the greatest pastries, I promise!" 

"I know you will, dear, " Molly gave her a smile before turning to Cadueces. "You lookin' to come with us, Caddy? I don't think Jester's had you on a proper sugar rush yet. We can't have that, now can we?"

Cadueces smiled in that peaceful yet still slightly unnerving way of his that all of the Nein had gotten used to. "Uh, I guess not? I'm not really sure they have a bakery here..."

"We'll find one!" Jester managed to wiggle underneath the table, bump into a few legs and pop out from underneath. "Pastry Hunting!" 

"The Search for Sugar!" Molly declared, thankfully able to escape the table easier than Jester since all he had to do was wait for Cadueces to stand. 

"We'll be back, you guys, byyyee!" Jester grabbed Cadueces' hand and dragged him out of the inn. 

"Sweet dreams, dear Beauregard, " Molly waved as he went to follow, giving Yasha a peck on the shoulder as he passed. 

"Fuck off, Molly!" Beau shouted after him. 

Molly grinned, turned once more only to blow a kiss to his friends before spinning in his heels and starting after Jester.


	2. Troubles of Being a Tiefling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving at this odd little town, Jester, Molly, and Cadueces search for a bakery to replenish Jester's supply with treats a bit less stale. Though they quickly figure out that maybe the people in this little town aren't as friendly as they once seemed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for:
> 
> Fantasy Racism
> 
> Use of Racial Slurs
> 
> Kidnapping & Violence

It was a rather nice day. The sky wasn't horribly cloudy and it wasn't terribly warm nor awfully cold. Jester skipped along with Cadueces and Molly trailing behind her. The town was small, but it was charming and made Molly wonder how it would feel living in a place like this. Everyone seemed really close to one another and even if they were poor it was an obvious difference compared to the slums of Zadash. Maybe it was the fact that they were a bit a ways away from the Empire in general. Either way, it seemed nice.

After wandering for a bit they found a little area that seemed to hold the shops. They were more like fruit stands that just held a little more than fruits, but it was as busy as the Pentamarket would be for such a small place. The stands had a number of faces manning them. Some did sell fruits, but others sold vegetables, grains, meats, clothes, etc. So far, no pastries, but that didn't discourage Jester.

"Excuse me, Miss!" Jester chirped as she stepped up in front of one stand once the previous customer had finished their business with the owner. "Do you know where we can find any sweets or something?" 

The woman seemed to be human with long hair tied up behind her head in a bun. She was folding some cuts of meat in some parchment to store away before the little bundle of energy that is Jester Lavorre rushed to speak with her. 

Now, people usually have various reactions when they first meet Jester. Most are a bit startled and shaken by the suddenness of her presence and the speed of her words. Some are simply confused while others are charmed once they gather themselves. This woman, however, had a very different reaction. 

She startled a bit as Jester leaned in to speak with her, which was normal enough, but her eyes didn't hold that confusion for long. They soon darkened before she lifted something and swung it at the blue girl. Molly jumped and grasped Jester, blood running down the side of his neck as the woman's eyes turned black and crimson ran down the sides of her face like tears.

"Devil spawns!" The woman shrieked, the thing she had intended to hit Jester with revealing itself to be a club. "Devil children!" 

"Well, hey now, that was uncalled for, " Cadueces stepped forward, but Molly simply grabbed his arm. 

The lavender tiefling quickly took a scan on the area, almost on instinct. Displays like this reminded him of his blurry first days before and even a bit after joining the circus. Some people have never seen a tiefling before. Some have, but just don't like them. Either way, they don't tend to react well to a humanoid figure with bright purple skin, horns, a tail, and blood-red eyes. Jester was one of the more human-looking tieflings he's met, but her skin tone did reveal her oddity quite easily. 

There were plenty of stares. All of them were either of fear or hatred, which was always a good sign. Some people even seemed to be making their way over. Molly remembered the sneers and the slurs that were thrown at him at the beginning of his circus career, which was thankfully shut down rather quickly by Bo and even quicker once Yasha arrived. Fighting against it yourself never helped anyone. At least not with this many people. They could probably take them, sure, but he can't imagine they'll let them stay if they went around beating people up. 

"Let's just go, " he said finally, tugging Jester close and marching off. He didn't wait to see if Cadueces was following them. He could feel Jester trembling a little. All that mattered was getting her out of the area before someone really had a chance to hurt her. 

•••

"What the hell was that for?!" Jester had finally recovered once they'd pulled away from the prying eyes. Cadueces was still nowhere to be seen, but perhaps he was still just trying to calm the situation. "I was just asking her a question!"

"She's a bitch is all, " Molly grumbled before taking Jester's hand. "Are you alright?" 

"I'm fine, she didn't hit me, " Jester shook her head a bit. "... Thank you, Molly."

Molly gave a small smile and a shrug. It was instinctual, almost. Seeing someone going to attack one of his friends, his first reaction was, of course, do something to prevent it. He rubbed the side of his neck, his hand coming back slightly smeared with drying blood. "Of course, dear, anytime. Now, I wanted to go explore anyway. We don't need directions."

"Is Cadueces coming?"

"I'm sure he'll catch up."

"Alright, well..." Jester turned and grinned, holding her hand up. "Team Tief?" 

Molly grinned and high fived her. "Always, darling. Let's go." 

Team Tiefling wandered for a little. There were still stares and still dirty looks, but they ignored it for the most part. Molly did note down a few faces that were harsher than others so he could sick Beau on them later. 

Their little exploration wasn't all that fun. People kept glaring at them. Molly had briefly tried to ask for direction from a man with children, hoping any negative treatment would be less intense, but the man immediately lashed out at them verbally, calling them "Foulbloods" and threatening them harshly if they didn't get away from his kids. Jester called him a "fucking prick" and dragged Molly away.

"I don't know if there's a bakery, deary, " Molly said finally, giving a heaving sigh. He was pretty damn sure he'd passed by this sour-faced dwarf at least five times. The town was small enough for it to be possible. Though he only questioned why they hadn't seen Cadueces yet.

"That's okay..." Jester said with a sigh. Her voice was softer, slightly heavier than usual. He had a sinking feeling it wasn't about the pastries. "I kinda wanna go, to be honest. I don't really like it here anymore, you know? People are mean here..."

"Yeah, they're awful, " Molly grumbled as he reached and took Jester's hand. "I'd rather take Beau's unpleasantness."

Jester's giggle, a light thing that made Molly want to consider it a third victory, was quickly cut off as two figures approached them. It was two humans, one looked like a male and the other seemed female, but both had fairly long hair. They weren't exactly glaring at them, per se, but it would take an idiot to not notice the darkness in their gaze. Molly gripped Jester's hand.

"Hello there, " Molly offered, reverting to his default: Charming his way out of things. "Lovely town you got here."

"Yeah, it's a very nice town, " the woman figure stepped up, her face neutral but her eyes burning into the both of them. Molly tried not to tighten his grip, but Jester was already doing so.

 _Don't show weakness_ he wanted to hiss at her. _That's how they gain the upper hand._

"Very nice..." Molly took a small step back, hoping he'd be able to walk away with Jester, but the man moved as well, giving the clear impression that he was going to react if they did try to run. "You wouldn't happen to have anywhere we can buy sweets or something, would you?" 

"Actually, we do, " the woman said with a smile. It was almost convincing. Almost. It took a bullshitter to know a bullshitter. And Molly had been bullshitting his entire (two years of) life. "Would that get you out of this town quicker?" 

"Oh, yes!" Mollymauk continued, eyeing the man cautiously. The looming figure hadn't made any movements aside from reacting to Molly's. Was that a good sign? It didn't feel like a good sign. "Very much so. We've just been on the road with our group, you see-"

"So there's more of you?"

"Oh yeah! If you've seen that firbolg nearby, he's with us. A lady who looks like something crawled in her ass and died? She's ours." 

"Oh, so, not tieflings?"

 _If they were, why the hell would I tell you that?_ Mollymauk snarked mentally but kept his easy grin on his face to hide his bitter thoughts. "No, unfortunately. But the other, uh, six of us are staying at an inn nearby. We'd love to return as soon as possible. You know, to keep them from worrying."

"Of course, of course, " the woman's words were almost gentle, but there were clearly different intents in her tone. "I'll show you the bakery right away."

"You could just tell us, " Jester piped in, clearly not liking this situation. It's fine since Molly didn't either. "We can get there on our own." 

"I think it'd be safer to come with us..."

Molly noticed the flicker of movement from the man next to her. Molly's hands immediately went to his own weapons, but one glance around revealed many eyes on them. Many of them seemed relieved, some were grinning like a brat who'd blamed something they did on their sibling. Molly cursed lowly, silently questioning how this situation would play out. If that lady from before kept a club on her in such a tiny, peaceful town like this, did that mean everyone carried weapons? If so, fighting may not be the best idea. 

"Come on now-" Molly nudged Jester, hoping she would run and hopefully slip away with that chaotic mind of hers when she escapes from a prank gone wrong. Silly little Jester stayed put. Godsdammit. "We're perfectly capable of going on our own."

The man shifted so he was standing behind them. Jester shuffled closer to him. Fuck, this was not good.

"Oh, I bet you are, " The woman turned and began walking. Molly felt a sharp nudge from the man behind him. 

Hot anger boiled underneath his skin. He glanced at Jester who was glancing around, both angry and fearful. He gritted his teeth with a huff, hoping the Nein could bail them out of jail somehow and followed begrudgingly. 

He expected to be placed in manacles. He expected to be led to a prison at least. What he didn't expect was being shoved into a dark area, just out of sight, before something slammed into his temple. His vision went spotty for a moment and he stumbled. He heard Jester shout, but it was cut off and he heard something hitting the ground. 

Before he could even register what that meant, another blow struck him and his vision went dark.


	3. Missing Treasures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cadueces, having no idea where the tieflings had gone off to, reports back to the inn to inform the rest of the Nein. They quickly realize the possible danger their friends are in and begin their search. Let's say, no one is going to be happy tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings For:
> 
> Fantasy Racism
> 
> Violence
> 
> Beau's here, so lots of swearing

The rest of the Nein were still settled in the inn by the time Cadueces returned without the tieflings. Nott, Fjord, and Caleb were still downstairs. Caleb was reading, as usual, while Fjord and Nott were just drinking the gross, cheap booze the bar provided. 

"Hey, Duecie, " Fjord greeted him with a raise of his mug. "Where's Jes and Molly?"

"I... Don't really know, " Cadueces walked over to the table but didn't sit down. It was unnerving how disturbed he looked. Something was bothering him. Nothing really bothers him, not like this. 

"What do ya mean?" Fjord furrowed his eyebrows, placing his drink down as Nott cuts her swig short to pay attention. "Wha' happened?" 

"We, uh... Ran into some trouble, " Cadueces pointed his thumb towards the door. "And they kinda just disappeared. Mr. Molly kinda just pulled Ms. Jester away and I can't really find them."

"What kind of trouble did you run into?" Caleb spoke up, having placed his book down at this point. 

"We were looking for a bakery for Jester, but when she went to ask someone for directions they swung a club at her, " Cadueces explained, his own brows furrowing at the memory. He went on to explain that he'd stayed there to try and calm things down but the lady Molly had blinded and some other folks just kept yelling about "Devil Children" and "Fucking Imps". Finally, Cad gave up and went to look for the two tieflings, only to end up circling the enter town three times and not seeing any sign of them. People didn't react well when he asked for help and described what they looked like. 

The demeanor of the three at the table shifted drastically. Fjord leaned forward a bit, staring more intensely. Nott gripped her flask and trained a burning glare at the door of the inn. Caleb had leaned back, staring into space with a clearly troubled expression. 

"They swung a _club_ at 'er?" Fjord repeated. "And called them _what_?"

"Yeah, I don't know why " Cadueces admitted. "Jester wasn't even as... Eager as she usually is."

" _Scheiße..._ " Caleb cursed, his hand clenching into a fist. " _Verdammte Rassisten._ "

"What Caleb?" Nott switched her attention from the door to her wizard.

"Devil Children. Imps. Those are slurs for tieflings, " Caleb stood up. He remembered his early years, before the test, before his parents. He was being taught to kill traitors, to rid of all empathy for those who go against the Empire. He'd watched Ikithon and various other Vollstrecker spit horrible things to those of different races. To the tieflings, devil child and hellspawn were common and sometimes the most effective. "These people hate Molly and Jester because they are tieflings."

"But... Why?" Nott asked, looking both angry and heartbroken.

"Some people are just cruel, " Fjord muttered, shaking his head before standing up. "I'm gonna get Beau and Yasha. You three look for Molly and Jes. If you don't find them, meet us at the stables."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Nott hopped off the bench as Caleb collected his things. "Lead the way, Caddy!" 

Cadueces nodded and turned, stepping out of the inn with Caleb and Nott in tow. Nott fell back a couple steps and grabbed onto Caleb's hand. 

"They're... Okay, right?" She asked softly, large golden eyes staring up at the human.

"Mollymauk and Jester are strong, " Caleb said, but he didn't sound exactly convinced himself. "They'll be fine. We'll find them soon enough."

•••

They didn't find them. They couldn't. There was no sign of the tieflings and Cadueces was right; every person they asked just gave them a dirty look once they figured out they were talking about a pair of tieflings. 

Beau and Yasha didn't react well to the news of their friends being missing. Beau had nearly knocked Fjord over in her rush to get out and search after hearing the two were apparently lost in a racist city. Yasha didn't have a reaction like Beau, of course, but the look on her face while Fjord was explaining and the tone of her voice when she gave a brusque "Let's go" once he was finished was basically the Yasha equivalent of knocking him out the way. 

The search was rough. They went about, switching from calling for the two to asking people for any information. They tried to explain their looks as detailed as possible without saying the word "Tiefling", but the people caught on quickly enough. Whenever this happened the folks either rushed to leave or snapped about not wanting anything to do with them. 

"Missing, ya say?" One older woman scoffed as she rearranged the fabrics she had for sale, not even turning to face them once she realized who they were asking for. "I bet ya my whole shop that they got taken in by the guards and shipped outta here. Good riddance. Can't go wrong with ridding of a few bullheads." 

Now, everyone in the Nein didn't take their friends being insulted like that well. Yasha glowered, anyone in the Nein paying attention would have checked nervously for her white tips turning black. Nott hissed with a display of her teeth. Cadueces folded his arms in a rare show of displeasure. Fjord opened his mouth to defend them. Caleb just stood off to the side, hands clenched in fists. But Beau, of course, decided she'd had enough. 

Before any of them could stop her, the shopkeep had crumpled on the ground, wailing over her broken nose as Beau had lunged nearly halfway into her stand to deck her in the face. 

"Fucking piece of shit!" Beau spat as Fjord and Cad grabbed her and yanked her back before she could do any more damage. There was a crowd of onlookers again, but they looked a lot more wary than they had when there were tieflings involved. "You fucking bitch! You have no idea who the fuck you're even talking about! You watch your fucking mouth-!"

"Alright, alright, " Cadueces grasped the struggling monk by the shoulders and steered her away. 

As the rest began to follow loosely behind Cadueces, who was nearly dragging Beau away from the stand, Caleb took a step up to it. The woman was shaking, bawling like a baby. To be fair, Beau's punches hurt like the hells, but this was overboard. Caleb leaned over, grabbing a cup of some sort of cider the woman was keeping for herself and poured it over her head, making her shriek like it was acid. 

" _unwissende Hündin,_ " he growled, letting the cup drop and hit the woman on the head before stalking off after his friends. 

They searched until it got dark before dragging the humans back (dragging _Beau_ back really) while Fjord, Yasha and Nott went out to continue looking and gathering information. 

They'd all grouped up in the room Nott and Caleb shared since it didn't have a window Beau could leap out of. Cadueces sat directly in front of the door, ignoring Beau as she shoved and pulled at him to try and get out of the room. 

"You two can't do much in the dark, " Cadueces calmly stated for the hundredth time, causing Beau to cry out in frustration. "They'll be back and we'll figure things out."

"We also do not want you punching any potential witnesses again, " Caleb said from his place on the bed, sitting cross-legged with his spellbook in his lap. _Maybe I have something that will help track them down..._ "You have already given... Four people a bloody nose. And possibly a broken jaw."

"Motherfuckers deserved it!" Beau spat, giving Cadueces a kick to his side, which he barely reacted to. "Fucking move!" 

"You can't do much in the dark. They'll be back-" 

"aaaAAAUGH!" 

Beau marched over and flopped onto the bed, draped over the foot of it with her face buried in the sheets. She was still screaming, but it was muffled. 

Caleb snapped his fingers and let Frumpkin crawl onto her back, purring and curling up. The screaming soon stopped.

"Feeling better?" Caleb asked, flipping through his book after scanning the page and deeming it useless. 

There was a muffled response. It was most likely fairly unkind. 

"We'll figure things out in the morning, " Cadueces had somehow managed to set up a fire and teapot in their inn room. Caleb had learned not to question it. "Everything will be fine."

Caleb let out a soft sigh and looked to Beau, who had shifted enough so she could breathe but her face was still facing away from him. She didn't seem awfully upset, but Beau had a knack for hiding anything that wasn't lust or rage. 

" _Alles wird gut..._ " he murmured softly. Gods, he hoped so.


	4. Sealed Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mollymauk and Jester wake up in what is probably not the best situation they've been in. Robbed of their weapons, spells, even their sense of time, the tieflings try their best to find some way out while believing in their friends to figure things out as well. Unfortunately, even separate from their friends, they are still members of the Mighty Nein and they aren't the best at planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings For:
> 
> Nudity (non-sexual)
> 
> Racial Slurs
> 
> Imprisonment

Jester woke up to darkness, her head swirling and her eyes taking longer than normal to adjust and switched to darkvision. That knock on her head had been pretty damn hard. She took a moment and glanced around, glad her hands weren't restrained and there wasn't a gag in her mouth. Still, there was a sinking dread in her stomach as she quickly realized what just happened. 

"Oh... Fuck..." She croaked, her throat dry and her voice cracking before she coughed to try and clear it. She fought down a shudder, trying not to recall the last time she'd been powerless and stuck in a cell. "This is really not good."

"Yeah, this seems pretty bad," a voice next to her croaked back, making her jump. "Are you alright?"

 _Molly..._ Relief flooded her as she turned and grinned at the familiar face sitting next to her. The other tiefling returned the smile and thankfully didn't seem all that worse for wear. Though, Jester did quickly notice one thing different about him...

"You're naked!" Jester yelped, rightfully surprised. 

"Oh?" Molly looked down to examine himself. "I suppose I am. And so are you."

"I am?!" Jester looked down at herself before pulling her knees up, feeling her face flush. She wasn't normally shy, but there's a difference between undressing in front of people and _being_ undressed, especially while you were unconscious by your kidnappers.

"I won't look," Molly said, already having turned his head away. "But, to be fair, I've already seen you naked plenty of times, dear."

"Oh, I know," Jester kept her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. "I just... They took our clothes off, Molly! While we were unconscious! That's really creepy!" 

"Can't argue with you there, my dear," Molly sighed. "Any idea where we are?"

"Nope," Jester, forgetting her nudity for a moment, stood up and made her way over to what seemed like a door. She ran over hands over the surface of it, unable to find any handholds to grasp or knobs to turn. "Maybe we're in a super-secret dungeon! .... Wait... How would the others find us then?"

"I'm sure it's nothing too super-secret," Molly stood up as well, joining her in the search. The door almost seemed melded into the wall. It made the two silently wonder if it even opened at all. "You have any spells on you? Can you try messaging?"

"I think so!" Jester turned and started on the spell. "And it's called _Sending_ , not-" 

She was cut short as glyphs on the walls began to glow and the air was pierced by a sharp CRACK. Jester yelped and flinched, her spell fizzing out. 

"What the fuck?!" Molly went over and touched the walls where the glow was beginning to fade before cursing to himself. "Motherfuckers..."

"Anti-magic?" Jester rubbed her temple like it ached. 

"It seems that way..." Molly looked to Jester. "Are you alright?" 

"It gave me a little headache when it zapped my spell away, but I'm okay," Jester's voice was soft in what sounded like helplessness peeking through a poor attempt at hiding it. "But I guess that means no Sending. Should I try again? Maybe it's only a one time use..."

"No no no, you don't know what it really did to you," Molly looked around for a moment before focusing on her. "Look at me for a second."

"Why?"

Mollymauk's eyes seemed to flicker a different color for a moment before the walls began glowing again. Jester gave a soft cry and surged forward to stop whatever he was casting, but the glyphs worked too fast and Molly gave a sharp cry as a reaction to the Dispel Magic or whatever was in the walls. 

"Molly! Are you crazy?! Are you okay?" 

"I'm fine," Molly gave a wary smile and took her outstretched hands. "I was just using Thaumaturgy. It seems like it isn't just a one-time thing, unfortunately."

"Don't do that again!" Jester scolded, making Molly wince as she squeezed his hands harder than necessary. 

"I won't, I'm sorry." 

Jester nodded, letting go of his hands and glaring at their surroundings. "Well, we have to figure out some way of getting out of here."

Molly gave a small smile. "I have a terrible idea." 

Jester arched an eyebrow at him with a small smile as well. "Don't we always have terrible ideas?"

"Touché." 

Jester giggled and Molly smiled at the sound of it. Victory.

•••

The room was silent. Uncomfortably so. There was no sound outside the sound of their breathing and sometimes the brief conversations they have to fill the space. 

"Why does it have to be so quiet?" Jester finally grumbled, having been squirming and singing and rambling for a little and finally run out of things to fill the air with. 

"I think it's just a way of keeping us disoriented or something," Molly shrugged. "I'd bet good money that if we were alone we'd be feeling different."

"Is something in here with us?!" Jester looked around, suddenly alarmed.

"No, no dear, I mean if we were in individual cells," Molly clarified, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Like, if you were in this one and I was in a different one. People tend to go a little crazy when they're isolated for too long."

"Oh... Well, I'm glad we're not." 

"Yeah, me too."

More time passed before the door opened. It startled them both. They thought they'd have some sort of signal when someone was approaching their door, but apparently this room is so sealed that it prevented any sound from outside to travel through. It made them stumble a little as they tried to quickly remember their plan and put it into action 

The door was barely open for a minute before Molly rushed forward, screaming. The person who opened it was rightfully startled, not expecting a pair of horns to ram into their gut. Jester used the distraction to push through the doorway and start running. If everything went according to plan, Jester would at least get far enough away to collect her thoughts and maybe find a way out, with Molly following behind if they were lucky. If not, she'd find the rest of the Nein and come back for Molly.

Sadly, things did not go according to plan.

There was a shout once she was out of the door and running. Unfortunately, she only made it about five feet from the door before her muscles seized up unexpectedly. She stumbled and fell onto her face, grunting as her body suddenly refused to cooperate. Molly gave a shout too, somewhere behind her, but there was suddenly silence. Dread filled her stomach as she began searching for things to do. Why did all her spells have to include moving or talking?! 

"Good try," a voice behind her spoke as she felt hands lifting her up. She tried not to think about how disturbing it was that a stranger was touching her while she was naked. "I knew keeping you two together was an awful idea."

Jester could see Molly now, after briefly trying to squint at the light now that they were out of the dark cell. He was held against the wall but based on the panicked look in his eyes, it didn't seem like he needed to be held. He didn't even twitch at her, causing her to suspect he was placed under a similar spell she was, if not the same one. 

_Well shit._

"Fucking Half-Hells. Take that one to the other room. No food for either of them." 

It was then Jester noticed what seemed to be... porridge spilled on the ground? And two bowls tossed and forgotten in the corner. Jester was feeling a bit hungry, but she didn't feel bad about it since the food looked like it would taste really bad anyway. 

The one holding down Molly grabbed him and began dragging the other tiefling's stiff form out of Jester's view. Jester grunted and tried to struggle against the spell, but it wasn't working. She was thrown into the room, but the door was shut and sealed before the glyphs had removed the spell's effects. She still jumped up immediately, pounding on the door.

"Don't hurt him!" She cried, her fists and feet quickly aching from slamming and kicking at the door. "It was my idea, don't hurt him! Molly!" 

There was no response. Not even a warning to be quiet. Jester was starting to suspect sound didn't leave this room just like it didn't enter it. Jester swore in both Common and Infernal, angrily punching the door one final time, shaking out her hand from the pain that followed. 

This was really, really bad. She was locked up, without her magic, without Molly, without any of the Nein even having a clue as to where they were. She shouldn't be so nervous. Her friends had found her, Fjord, and Yasha before without many leads to go on. They were probably looking for them right now, beating up any person who got in their way. Jester shouldn't be scared. They were coming. 

Then... Why was it so hard to breathe all of a sudden?

" _Hfwm duzzdy tmudv, va laz wih xe sarv. Dirclyww tapyw al zmy sulqw ao xe kurv_ ," Jester sang in soft Infernal, remembering the warmth of her mother and wishing she could cast Sending so she could hear her Mama sing it for real. " _Hfwm duzzdy culvyr, va laz picy xe waflv. Oldh ul hafr vryipw til zmy dudfp ky oaflv._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Jester is singing to herself at the end translates to "Hush little child, do not say a word. Darkness comes on the wings of a bird. Hush little kinder, do not make a sound. Only in your dreams can the lilum be found." They are lyrics to a song I found on Youtube called "Demon's Dark Lullaby". I take no credit for it, I just thought it was a sweet little song that'll probably go along with the harsh nature of the Infernal language. I doubt demons sing to their children, but Marion Lavorre is no demon and I'm sure she somehow managed to make such a naturally ugly sounding language sound sweet for her little Sapphire.


	5. Rescue on Hold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With little to no leads as to where the tieflings had ended up, the remainder of the Nein pile in and try to think of a plan. With tensions running high, it takes a little while, and when they're just starting to think they have things figured out, they find yet another reason to hate this seemingly innocent town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings For:
> 
> Beauregard Lionett 
> 
> Racial Slurs
> 
> Kidnapping and Violence

"Nope. We're not doin' that," Fjord said for the thousandth time since they started this conversation.

Mollymauk and Jester have been missing for a little over a day and it was really starting to affect everyone. Nott was drinking more excessively, Caleb was always murmuring to himself in Zemnian while flipping through his spellbook over and over, Beau couldn't sit still to save their lives, and Yasha was somehow tenser than she normally is and hasn't spoken since Fjord first told her about the disappearances yesterday. Fjord has been trying hard to be the leader but he's been getting flustered and frustrated as they were spending more and more time looking and getting nothing useful. Cadueces was showing rare signs of stress himself, but whether that was because of the missing tieflings or because of the heavy cloud of despair that was floating over the group was unclear. 

They all gathered in one room once more, going over the little information they got and trying to make a plan. All they've gotten so far was that their friends had most likely been taken by whoever had taken the role of "Guards" in this town. It wasn't clear who exactly the guards were, but it was safe to assume it was the people who seemed like they've seen a lot more fights than the rest of the citizens. The only problem is, they have no idea _where_ they would have been taken, _if_ they were truly taken. Beau had a "perfect" plan for that.

Turn her into a tiefling dude again. 

"Why the fuck not, Fjord?!" Beau through her hands in the air, irritated her genius plan was being shot down once again. "It's perfect! I become a tiefling, you guys follow me if I get arrested and we find where the hell they took Molly and Jester!"

"If they were able to snatch two of the loudest and most noticeable members of our group and leave almost no trace than what the hell makes you think we'll be able to just _follow_ 'em?!"

"Well give me a better idea!" Beau stalked closer, making the others tense in fear that she was going to start swinging. "Because while we're sitting here with our heads in our asses, Molly and Jes could be fucking dead right now! We don't know what the fuck they do to tieflings here! They could have been killed by now and we wouldn't know shit!"

"They're not dead, Beau-"

"How the fuck do you know that?!"

"I think we need to calm-"

"SHUT UP, CADUECES!" Both Beau and Fjord snapped in unison, startling a Firbolg a bit.

"If they were dead, and that's a _big_ if, how does turning you into a tiefling help us at all?! They'll just kill you too!"

"You guys would really just let these assholes kill me?!"

"Of course not-!"

"Well, there you go! And at least if they try, we'll know what happened! We'll know they were fucking killed by these fuckers while we were snoozing in the inn and we can burn the entire place to the ground-" 

A wash of energy passed through the room. Nott set her flask down. Caleb's intense grip on his spellbook lessened. The shoulders of both Fjord and Beau slumped as the magic took effect. Cadueces stood up from his sitting position, gently pushing both Fjord and Beau so that they sat down. 

"Everyone needs to relax," he said slowly, watching Beau slouch and fall back on the bed while Fjord just leaned forward and propped his elbows against his knees. Cad looks to Nott and Caleb as well. " _Everyone._ No one's dead. No towns are gonna be burned. It's fine. We do need to figure this out quickly, but we can't do that if we're just... Screaming our heads off."

"You're right..." Fjord gave a long exhale as he ran his hands over his face. "You're absolutely right, Cadueces. I apologize."

"We'll figure this out," Cadueces gave the Half-orc a pat on his shoulder. "It just won't help if we're yelling at each other."

"The last thing I said to Jester was basically ' _I'm too tired to hang out with you_ '..." Beau mumbled from her place sprawled on the bed, staring at the ceiling. 

"Beau..." Fjord looked up and turned his head towards the monk. "They're not-"

"The last thing I said to Molly was ' _Fuck off_ '..." Beau muttered before starting to chuckle, half hysterically. 

Nott squirmed where she was sitting. The laughter reminded her of Caleb, chuckling in response to Beau trying to comfort her after he'd told them about his parents. Caleb must have made a connect too, seeing that he winced and leaned forward, lightly grasping her wrist. 

"They are alive, Beauregard," he said, spellbook for once forgotten on the bed. "It will not be the last thing you said to them."

Beau didn't respond. Fjord gave a soft sigh before straightening himself. "Alright," he said, clapping to startle everyone into attention. "Are we doing Tiefling Beau? Is that the plan?" 

Beau turned and looked at Fjord, brows furrowed. "But you said-"

"I don't have any better ideas," Fjord finally admitted. "I just didn't like how risky that one was. But, if it'll get us Jester and Molly back, we gotta try."

"Alright!" Nott cheered. "Let's get Beau kidnapped!" 

"Uh, well, I don't think-"

"Let's get me kidnapped!" Beau interrupted Fjord quite eagerly. "Fuck yeah!"

•••

The plan was simple. Caleb turns Beau into her Guy Tiefling form. She leaves before the rest, hopefully stopping anyone from noticing she's with them or anything. Tief Beau will start roaming around, making her presence very known and _not_ getting into fights with the locals. "We don't need them to have a worse view against tieflings," Fjord said, but Beau huffed out a "fine" that sounded more like a "no promises, but I'll agree just to shut you up". That wasn't so strange coming from Beau.

Nott will make sure to follow Tief Beau while the others kept in the area as well but at a larger distance. Once the "guards" show up to snatch TB away, Nott will alert the others and make sure to step in if it gets life-threatening. Beau begrudgingly agreed to let herself be knocked out or incapacitated, just as long as everyone promised to jump in if they seemed like they were about to kill her. It wasn't a difficult promise to make.

Everyone would follow TB and the guards to wherever they will take her, if they didn't try and kill her, and there they'd take out the guards, break-in and bust out Jester and Molly. It seemed perfect. But then again, a lot of the plans made by the Mighty Nein sounded perfect during the discussions.

"Do we scout out the area before we start?" Nott asked, already getting her crossbow ready. "Or do we just wing it?"

"We wing everything we do!" Beau was clearly getting restless. "Let's just go!"

"A lot of our plans kinda fail when we just wing it," Fjord was standing by the door, peeking out every so often to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "Maybe we should look around first. Find where you should go, where you shouldn't, where the rest of us should hide out. We don't know how much time we got so we need to do this right the first time."

"If we don't have time to lose, why are we wasting it like this?"

"Beau, what help are we gonna be if you end up fucking with the wrong guy and we gotta fuck someone up and make a scene before the guards even get there? You're the only one meant to get arrested. If we all do, we're fucked."

"We all got arrested that one time because no one was smart enough to fucking scatter! That's what you do when the cops show up, you fucking bolt-!"

A knock on the door interrupted them, immediately sending the group into a heavy hush. Fjord looked around, glad they'd waited before turning Beau, and cracked the door open.

"Hello?"

A human woman stood on the other side of the door. Her brown hair was a bit short, barely falling past her jaw, and her eyes were dark and burning. Fjord immediately had the instinct to summon his sword and start the fight he felt was surely coming. 

"You and your group are newcomers, yes?" She said, her easy smile clearly revealed as false by the hard look in her eyes. "I've heard you were looking for your... Friends."

"Uh... We are new, yes," Fjord didn't open the door any further, feeling Beau creep up closer so she could listen while staying out of view. 

"But are you looking for your friends?" The woman asked again. Fjord almost wanted to tell her 'No we're good' and shut the door in her face, but she had an air about her that seemed too... Important. 

Maybe she had something to do with Molly and Jester's capture...

"We are, actually. Why, do you think you've seen them?"

"Colorful pair, yes? One purple, one blue. Clothing nearly as colorful as their skin, at least for the purple one."

Fjord could feel his teammates tense as they listened to this woman describe their tieflings. Fjord really wanted to put a blade to her throat, watch that almost smug look on her face vanish. That, however, most likely wouldn't get them anywhere nice, even if they could handle whoever decides to protect this terrible place. 

"Sounds like them, yes."

The woman smiled in what seemed like... Satisfaction? "Good. Come with me. They'd caused a bit of a scene on our streets so we needed to, unfortunately, keep them a bit... Contained."

Beau _growled_ from behind him. He reached out with his hand, the one currently not in this other woman's view, and grasped her arm to try and keep her in check. 

_'I know'_ he wanted to tell her. _'Later. Soon.'_

"Are they harmed? They're normally quite reasonable, so it would be hard for me to believe you'd need to take any extreme measures against them."

"No, they aren't harmed. Just contained. Come with me, please, and retrieve them. We don't necessarily enjoy keeping prisoners."

 _Gods above, the words she keeps using sounds like she's talking about fucking_ animals. _She's lucky I'm so godsdamn polite._

"What do you guys say?" Fjord opened the door a bit more to reveal the rest of the Nein. Literally _everyone_ was glaring daggers at this woman. If looks could kill, there'd be no trace of her left in that hall. "Should we go get our Team Tief? Do you need all of us?" He directed the last question towards the woman again.

If she was at all intimidated by the many glaring eyes on her, she did an excellent job of hiding it. "We'd prefer all of you since we also hoped you'd leave once you retrieve them. We wouldn't like our citizens to be... Uncomfortable with those roaming their own streets. You understand, don't you?"

"Oh, I understand perfectly," he gave a small grin, his eyes spelling out murder as he spoke. "Please. Lead the way."

With that, the Mighty Nein were led out of their inn. They gathered their necessities and followed the "guard?" out into the streets. There were some stares, but no one seemed to linger for too long. Eventually, they were brought to a small building. Every structure here felt like someone was genuinely living and thriving inside of it. It seemed less of a prison and more of a home. It was pretty off-putting how disgustingly innocent this town appeared to be until the wrong type of people walk in.

As the Nein walk into the building, Fjord gives a subconscious shiver as the door closes. 

"So?" Beau had her arms crossed, glaring around the room. "Where are they, then?"

"Where they belong!" The woman barked with a laugh, keeping her back towards them. "You see, our sleepy little town doesn't take kindly to Devil-kin." 

Fjord put his hand up just in time to stop Beau from lunging at her. "Now hold on now-"

"We also prefer not to associate with Fiend Friends either." 

Before Fjord could ask what that meant, Caleb shouted out familiar arcane words at seemingly nothing. Though, seconds after, he collapsed. Nott soon followed, barely able to open her mouth and cry out for her boy. Cadueces dropped quickly. Then Yasha. Then Beau, her iron grip on his arm going limp as she crumpled to the floor.

"What the fuck?!" Fjord summoned his sword and held it up in front of him, quickly noticing the figures that had hidden themselves within the room. One was giving a seething glare at Caleb's limp form. Suddenly Fjord recognized the spell Caleb had cast.

_Counterspell..._

"Why make this so difficult?" The woman sucked on her teeth, shaking her head like a disappointed parent. 

Fjord rushed forward and pressed the blade up against her throat. Her eyes didn't melt into fear as he had hoped, but her hands had lifted and slipped in between the blade and her neck, making her hand bleed instead. 

"Where are the tieflings you kidnapped?" He demanded. 

The woman simply grinned, lifting her other hand to touch his cheek. "Such a pretty face. So sad you allowed those Foulblood to corrupt you." 

Fjord yanked his sword, pulling it across and slicing deep into the woman's hand where it was clutching the blade. Blood sprayed. He would have gone for another swing, but something struck him hard in the back of the head and the world fell into darkness.


End file.
